Teable
Teable is spending this release cycle making computed fields and admin recovery trustworthy
Comparison · Collab
BookStack vs SiYuan
A side-by-side editorial comparison of BookStack and SiYuan — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
BookStack vs SiYuan: at a glance
What is BookStack?
BookStack's release stream is mostly security patches with feature drops in between.
Four of BookStack's last six releases are security releases. The newest closes five separate issues at once: external authentication could match the wrong user where IDs differ only by casing or accents, the login form leaked user existence through timing, exported content could load interactive content over file links, API errors exposed debug detail by default, and the default PDF renderer could probe files on the host. The one feature release, v26.05, added a page contents view in the editor, tag browsing API endpoints, a dedicated revision-viewing permission, in-UI MFA reset and new image and CSP controls.
What is SiYuan?
SiYuan's v3.8.0 train restates one AI feature set across seven consecutive builds.
SiYuan is deep in a v3.8.0 preview train — four alphas and three betas since August 1 — and every build republishes the same four headline features: an AI Agent, semantic search over AI embeddings with reranking, Model Context Protocol support, and OIDC authentication. Two pairs of these builds carry byte-identical published notes, so the per-build delta is not visible from the feed at all. What does vary is a long enhancement list covering sync, mobile platforms and database views.
BookStack vs SiYuan: editorial side-by-side
BookStack
5.0COLLAB
BookStack's release stream is mostly security patches with feature drops in between.
◆ Current state
Four of BookStack's last six releases are security releases. The newest closes five separate issues at once: external authentication could match the wrong user where IDs differ only by casing or accents, the login form leaked user existence through timing, exported content could load interactive content over file links, API errors exposed debug detail by default, and the default PDF renderer could probe files on the host. The one feature release, v26.05, added a page contents view in the editor, tag browsing API endpoints, a dedicated revision-viewing permission, in-UI MFA reset and new image and CSP controls.
◆ Where it's heading
Cadence is set by responsible disclosures — a named researcher credited in nearly every patch — and the feature work leans the same way, toward finer permissions and content security controls. For a self-hosted wiki that users routinely expose publicly, hardening is the roadmap, with quarterly feature releases sitting between patch runs.
◆ Prediction
Expect another patch on the 26.05 line next. The permission and CSP work visible in v26.05 is the thread the following minor most plausibly continues, though the entries give no signal on timing.
SiYuan
6.3COLLAB
SiYuan's v3.8.0 train restates one AI feature set across seven consecutive builds.
◆ Current state
SiYuan is deep in a v3.8.0 preview train — four alphas and three betas since August 1 — and every build republishes the same four headline features: an AI Agent, semantic search over AI embeddings with reranking, Model Context Protocol support, and OIDC authentication. Two pairs of these builds carry byte-identical published notes, so the per-build delta is not visible from the feed at all. What does vary is a long enhancement list covering sync, mobile platforms and database views.
◆ Where it's heading
The release notes are cumulative rather than incremental, which makes the train read as a single release delivered in installments. Beneath the repeated feature banner the actual work is platform breadth: LAN peer-assisted acceleration for cloud sync, audio recording on Android and HarmonyOS, custom font import on mobile, and configurable Stable, Beta and Alpha update channels. Reaching beta.3 within ten days of the first alpha says the train is converging.
◆ Prediction
A v3.8.0 stable release looks close given the move from first alpha to third beta inside ten days. The update-channel setting arriving in this same cycle suggests the project intends to keep running parallel preview streams once it ships.
Alternatives to BookStack and SiYuan
Other Collab products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either BookStack or SiYuan.
GitHub
Copilot's model roster churns weekly while GitHub quietly rewires policy and billing plumbing
Hive
Governance and cross-workspace plumbing, not new AI surface
AFFiNE
A nightly canary train where the AI platform work hides between dependency bumps
Flame
Self-hosted dashboard that finished its feature arc and stopped shipping in 2023.
CommaFeed
A self-hosted RSS reader that now spends most of its release notes on security.
See all BookStack alternatives → · See all SiYuan alternatives →
Recent activity from BookStack and SiYuan
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 1d agoSiYuanThird v3.8.0 beta restating the AI Agent and MCP feature set
- 3d agoSiYuanSecond v3.8.0 beta, cumulative notes restated
- 3d agoSiYuanFirst v3.8.0 beta, notes identical to alpha.4
- 4d agoSiYuanFourth v3.8.0 alpha, notes identical to beta.1
- 6d agoSiYuanThird v3.8.0 alpha carries the database view work
- 6d agoSiYuanSecond v3.8.0 alpha, cumulative notes restated
- 13d agoBookStackSecurity release fixes five issues including auth matching
- 1mo agoBookStackURL filtering, redirects and permission checks hardened
- 2mo agoBookStackAttachment metadata leak and file:// export risk closed
- 2mo agoBookStackv26.05 adds page contents view, tag API and revision permissions
- 2mo agoBookStackRate limiting added to MFA verification routes
- 3mo agoBookStackAttachment permission and webhook URL validation fixes
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between BookStack and SiYuan?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. SiYuan is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is BookStack better than SiYuan?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. SiYuan is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 6.3 vs 5.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Collab products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to BookStack?
Top BookStack alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "BookStack alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/bookstack for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to SiYuan?
Top SiYuan alternatives in Collab are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "SiYuan alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/siyuan for the full list with editorial commentary on each.